Document
2. Some World-famous Child Psychologists or Educationists
3. Educational Testing Service
David Elkind
2. A Movie Clip About Children’s Education
A Brief Introduction
David Elkind is an author and child psychologist. His groundbreaking books The Hurried Child and Mis-education informed early childhood education professionals of the possible dangers of
“pushing down” the elementary curriculum into the very early years of a child’s life. By doing so, he argued, teachers and parents alike could lapse into developmentally inappropriate instructional and learning practices that may somewhat distort the smooth development of learning. He is associated with the belief of decline of social markers. Here are some other books he has written:
Ties that Stress: The New Family Imbalance (1994), All Grown Up and No
Place To Go (1988), Reinventing Childhood (1988).
A Movie Clip About Children’s Education
Directions: Watch the movie clip, and then answer the following questions.
■
A Movie Clip About Children’s Education
1. According to David, what was the main purpose of the film?
He wanted to use the film to highlight some observations, theories and concepts mentioned by Jean Piaget.
2. When did Jean Piaget publish his first research paper?
When Jean Piaget was only ten years old.
3. Why did Jean Piaget turn down the offer given by a museum?
Because he hadn’t finished his high school.
4. Which period can be called sensorimotor period?
At the age of 1-2.
Some World-famous Child Psychologists or Educationists
Bruno Bettelheim (1903-1990) psychoanalyst and educational psychologist
is a controversial Austrian-born American psychoanalyst and educational psychologist, who pioneered in the application of psychoanalysis to the treatment of emotionally-disturbed children.
Bettelheim won fame from his books and articles in both the scientific and popular press. His passionate, intensely personal, and anecdotal style drew some criticism from the scientific community, though few questioned his talent for conceptualization and for developing provocative, imaginative ideas.
His major contributions came from his work at the
Orthogenic School of the University of Chicago , a residential treatment
institution for rehabilitating children with severe emotional disturbances, where he became principal in 1944. In 1990 Bettelheim committed suicide.
Soon after, allegations arose that he had falsified many of his credentials and had been physically abusive to the children in his care.
Jean Piaget (1896-1980) Swiss psychologist
Trained in zoology and philosophy,
later studied psychology in
and Eugen Bleuler , and he was subsequently
affiliated with the
from 1929 until his death. He developed a theory of
“genetic epistemology”, a natural timetable for the development of the child’s ability to think in which he traced four stages — the sensorimotor (ages 0 – 2), preoperational or symbolic (2 – 7), concrete operational (7 – 12), and formal operational (through adulthood) — each marked by increased cognitive sophistication and ability to use symbols. In
1955 Piaget founded and became director of an international centre for genetic epistemology in Geneva.
He is regarded as the foremost developmental psychologist of the 20th century.
Educational Testing Service
2. Various Tests Sponsored by ETS
Paragraph Completion
Directions: Listen to the recording, and then complete the following paragraph with the information you get from the passage you have just heard.
by three different governmental committees or non-governmental ones,
Advancement of Teaching , and the College Entrance Examination Board. ETS lots of sections with distinctive purposes or missions. Lots of measurement assessment technology comprise one of the most important key divisions,
.
Educational Testing Service (ETS) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help advance quality and equity in education by providing fair and valid assessments, research, and related services. Its products and services measure knowledge and skills, promote learning and performance, and support education and professional development worldwide. Founded in 1947 as an independent organization by the American Council on Education, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and the College Entrance Examination Board, ETS has grown to become the world’s largest private educational testing and measurement organization, annually administering more than 11 million tests in 181 countries. Helping ETS carry out its mission are the following key divisions. The
ETS Statistics and Research Division is a group of innovative, internationally respected measurement experts who specialize in research and development in psychometrics, equitable testing, and assessment technology. More than 250 division staff, including some of the nation’s most distinguished scientists in the fields of psychometrics and statistics, engage in research and analysis to support existing assessments and generate ideas for future assessment products and services.
Various Tests Sponsored by ETS
1. SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test)
The SAT test is taken by students who are interested in furthering their academic careers and preparing for college. The competitiveness of college admissions dictates a good SAT score as a minimum to even be considered by some colleges. The SAT test is sponsored by the College Examination Board.
The SAT test covers two content areas: verbal ability and mathematics. You will not find social studies, chemistry, physics and biology on the SAT, unless a few of these topics are covered in the verbal reading comprehension section.
The SAT test is designed to be one of the first hurdles in your academic undergraduate career. Consequently, the questions focus on your ability to apply knowledge that you have learned in past experiences related to the algebra, vocabulary, analogy, and arithmetic. The SAT test requires that you understand the underlying concepts and determine one correct answer choice from the information presented.
Various Tests Sponsored by ETS
2. GRE
The GRE is short for Graduate Record Examination. This exam is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), one of the world’s largest private educational testing and measurement organizations. The ETS develops standardized examinations in the US and also conducts the TOEFL test in around 110 countries.
The GRE is a computer-based test divided into three major sections. The test measures the student’s verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills that have been acquired over a period of time. The test is necessary for students who plan to pursue their master’s degrees in the
US, UK, Australia or Canada. The GRE test scores are used by admissions or fellowship panels to supplement undergraduate records and other qualifications that are required for graduate study. The scores provide a common measure for comparing the qualifications of applicants and also serve as a measure to evaluate grades and recommendations.
Various Tests Sponsored by ETS
3. GMAT
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is a standardized test for measuring aptitude for academic success in graduate business studies.
Business schools commonly use the test as one of many selection criteria for admission into an MBA program.
The exam measures basic verbal, mathematical and analytical writing skills that the examinee has developed over a long period of time in his / her education and work. It does not measure specific knowledge of business, job skills, or subjective qualities such as motivation, creativity, and interpersonal skills. Scores are valid for five years (at most institutions) from the date the test taker sits for the exam until the date of matriculation (not until the date of application).
Various Tests Sponsored by ETS
4. TOEFL
For more than 40 years the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) has been the leading academic English proficiency test in the world.
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) measures the ability of nonnative speakers of English to use and understand North American English as it is spoken, written and heard in college and university settings. Most people who take the TOEFL test are planning to study at colleges and universities where instruction is in English. In addition, many government agencies, scholarship programs, and licensing / certification agencies use TOEFL scores to evaluate
English proficiency.
Various Tests Sponsored by ETS
5. Praxis Series
The Praxis Series assessments provide educational tests and other services that states of America use as part of their teaching licensing certification process.
The Praxis I tests measure basic academic skills, and the Praxis II tests measure general and subject-specific knowledge and teaching skills.
A Movie Clip About GMAT
■
Group Discussion
Directions: Hold a discussion with your partners on the following questions.
a) Do you think high academic scores are an indicator of success?
b) What do you think of Chinese primary school education?
English Song — The Lost Children
We pray for our fathers, pray for our mothers
Wishing our families well
We sing songs for the wishing, of those who are kissing
But not for the missing
So this one is for all the lost children
This one is for all the lost children
This one is for all the lost children, wishing them well
And wishing them home
When you sit there addressing, counting your blessings
Biding your time
When you lay me down sleeping and my heart is weeping
Because I am keeping a place
For all the lost children
This is for all the lost children
This one is for all the lost children, wishing them well
And wishing them home
Home with their fathers
Snug close and warm, loving their mothers
I see the door simply wide open
But no one can find thee
So let’s pray for all the lost children
Let’s pray for all the lost children
Just think of all the lost children, wishing them well
This is for all the lost children
This one is for all the lost children
Just think of all the lost children
Wishing them well, and wishing them home
Gifted Children
1. Warm-up Exercises — Mini IQ Quiz
Warm-up Exercises — Mini IQ Quiz
Directions: There are altogether 10 IQ questions. Decide whether each of the statements is true or false within 5 minutes without the help of paper and pencils.
1. The word “smart” can be created by using five letters from the word “barnstorm”.
2. If a tree branch can hold three people and John weighs twice as much as Adam, and Rachel weighs half as much as Adam, then Rachel, John and Adam can all sit together on the tree branch safely.
3. The number 25 is the next logical number in the following sequence of numbers: 5,
7, 10, 14, 19.
4. Your starting and ending points will be just an inch apart if you draw a line seven inches left, three inches up, two inches right, four inches down and five inches right.
5. Five horses, two people, three dogs and seven chickens have a total of fifty-two legs.
6. A group of 5 people must contain either 3 mutual friends or 3 mutual strangers.
7. The sum of all numbers from 8 to 18 is an even number.
8.
By removing two letters from the word “planets”, a word that is the opposite of
“uproot” can be formed.
9. Using six toothpicks you can create four equilateral triangles (where each triangle’s side is the length of a toothpick).
10. If the second day of the month is a Friday, then the twelfth day of the month is a
Tuesday.
Giftedness — Definitions
The term “gifted children” was first used in 1869 by
referred to adults who demonstrated exceptional talent in some area as gifted, for example, a gifted chemist. Children could inherit the potential to become a gifted adult, and Galton referred to these children as gifted children.
expanded Galton’s view of gifted children to include high IQ. In the early
1900s, he began a long-term study of gifted children, whom he defined as children with IQs of 140 or more. His study found that IQ alone could not predict success in adulthood.
Leta Hollingworth , too, believed that the potential to be
gifted was inherited. However, she felt that providing a nurturing home and school environment was also important in the development of that potential. In
1926, she published her book, Gifted Children, Their Nature and Nurture , and the term “gifted” has been used ever since to refer to children of high potential.
2. Further Understanding
For Part 1
For Part 2
For Part 3
Parts Paragraphs
1
1-2
2
3-7
3 8-13
Part Division of the Text
Main Ideas
The contrast between the past and current situation about children education.
Currently parents push their children too fast and too quickly.
The reason and the serious consequences.
Questions and Answers
1. How would most parents in the past feel if their child had developed certain abilities or inclinations at an earlier age than usual?
They would feel upset.
2. What do many parents believe now?
They believe that to be exceptional at an early age will put a child in an advantageous position.
3. What’s your opinion about the two assumptions: “early ripe, early rot” and
“early ripe, early rich”? Do you agree?
Open-ended.
4. Have you found that many parents in China today also entertain the notion that we can create exceptional children by early instruction? If you have, please come up with your examples.
Open-ended.
Interview
Directions: Form groups of five. Suppose one is a reporter, the other four are the first grade teacher and the angry mother, the tennis instructor at an exclusive resort hotel in Florida and the father of the three-year-old child. Now you have an interview with the two groups. Your interview should cover the following aspects:
1. Greeting.
2. What factor or factors lead parents to pursue a competitive approach to child rearing?
3. Many of today’s parents place intense pressure on their children to become exceptional. What harm will the pressure do to children?
4. Is there anything wrong with wanting children to strive for excellence? If not, where does the problem lie?
5. What are the negative short-term and long-term consequences of pushing a child to be a competitive high achiever at an early age?
Role-play
Directions: In Paragraph 11, the author uses four examples to show the consequences of parental pressure. Now you and your partner choose one example to role-play what has happened to them.
Group Discussion
1.
What do you think of Dr. Elkind’s idea about the goals of education? Do you agree to his analysis of the role of early instruction? State your reasons.
2. Do you agree to the author’s point that “Today’s parents want super kids, but what they are often getting are super problems”?
3. Should we give priority to character or exceptionality in rearing children? State your reasons.
There is nothing wrong with wanting children to do their best, but the problem is: parents in search of excellence are pushing their children too far and too fast.
Super Kids and Super Problems
David Elkind
Not so long ago, most parents wanted their kids to be like everybody else.
were often as upset if a child were precocious as they were if the child were slow.
Precocity was
being bad for the child’s psychological health. The
was “early ripe, early
”
Now that has changed. For many parents today there is no such thing as going too fast, and their major concern is that their child stay
.
Far from
that precocity has bad effects psychologically, they believe that being above the
brings many benefits. The assumption is “early ripe, early rich!”
The major consequence of this new parenting psychology is that many
parents are putting
pressure on children to perform at ever-earlier ages. A first grade teacher told me that an angry mother screamed at her because she had given the woman’s son a “Satisfactory.” “How is he ever going to get into M.I.T. if you give him a
‘Satisfactory?’” the mother wailed.
Many parents now enroll their child in
nursery schools as soon as the pregnancy is confirmed.
And once the child is old enough, they coach the child for the
interview.
“When they count everything in sight,” one nursery school director said, “you know they have been drilled before the interview.
” Parents believe that only if the child gets into this or that prestigious nursery school will he or she ever have a chance at getting into Harvard, Yale, or Stanford.
For the same reason, our elementary schools are suddenly filled with youngsters in enriched and
programs.
It is not just in academic study that children are being pushed harder at everearlier ages. Some parents start their preschool children in sports such as tennis and swimming in hopes that they will become Olympic athletes. A young man who attended one of my child development lectures stopped by afterward to ask me a question. He works as a tennis instructor at an
hotel in Florida and wanted to know how to motivate his students. When I asked how old they were he told me that they ranged in age from three to five years!
The pressure to make ordinary children
has become almost an
in sports.
I had high hopes for soccer, which can be played by all makes and models of children, big, small, and
But in most states soccer has become as competitive and selective as baseball, football, and hockey. The star mentality prevails, and the less talented youngster simply doesn’t get to participate.
Play is out and competition is in.
The pressure for exceptionality is equally powerful at the secondary level. High school students are pressured not only to get good grades but to get into as many advanced-placement classes as possible.
Around the country private tutoring centers are
like dandelions in the spring, offering lessons in everything from beginning reading to taking college entrance exams. Other parents urge their children to start dating at an early age so that they will have good interpersonal skills and a better chance to win the most
mates.
Clearly, there is nothing wrong with wanting children to do their best.
It is not the normal, healthy desire of parents to have successful children that is the problem, but the
pressure some parents are putting on children.
Why this push for excellence? Since parents today are having fewer children their chances of having “a child to be proud of” are lower than when families were larger. The cost of child rearing has also increased dramatically, so a successful child also protects one’s investment. But most of all, many of today’s parents have
carved out their own successful careers and feel very much in charge of their
lives.
They see no reason they should not take charge of child rearing in the
same manner and with the same success.
A successful child is the ultimate proof of their success.
The result is that many parents are far too intrusive. By deciding what and when children should learn, they rob them of the opportunity to
to take responsibility for their mistakes and credit for their achievements. Such practices run the risk of producing children who are dependent and lacking in selfesteem.
Today’s parents want super kids, but what they are often getting are super problems.
Although
correlation is certainly not causation, it is hard
not to connect the reported increase in stress symptoms over the last decade with the pressure on today’s children to be super kids. The stories I hear as I travel about the country are frightening. A girl who was involved in four different out-of-school activities (ballet, horseback riding,
Brownies, and music lessons) developed severe facial tics at age eight. Irving Sigel of Educational Testing Service tells the story of a six-year-old who, while doing her homework, asked her mother, “If I don’t get there right, will you kill me?” A woman told me that her seven-year-old grandson ran away from home (and all the after-school lessons) and came to her house, where he could have milk and cookies and play with the dog. One mother asked me if I could cure her six-year-old son of his nail biting by hypnosis or by teaching him relaxation. When I suggested that a less demanding extracurricular program might help, she replied, “Oh no, we can’t do that.”
Such child behavior problems
our times. Our trouble is that we always seem to go to extremes. Parents are either too permissive or too pushy.
Healthy child rearing demands a middle ground.
Certainly we need to make demands on our children. But they have to
the child’s interests and abilities.
We put our children at risk for short-term stress disorders and longterm personality problems when we ignore their individuality and
our own
I believe that we need to abandon the false notions that we can create exceptional children by early instruction, and that such children are symbols of our
as parents. And I believe we should be as concerned with character as with success. If we have reared a well-mannered, good, and
person, we should take pleasure and pride in that fact.
More likely than not , if we have
achieved those goals, the child’s success will take care of itself.
Each child has a unique pattern of qualities and abilities that makes him or her special. In this sense, every single child is a super kid.
They were often as upset if a child were precocious as they were if the child were slow.
1. What has been omitted in this sentence?
The word “upset” is omitted in the clause “as they were (upset) if the child were slow” in order to avoid repetition.
2. Translate the sentence into Chinese.
如果一个孩子早熟，他们往往会忧心忡忡，就像孩子反应迟钝会让他们心烦一样。
… their major concern is that their child stay ahead of the pack.
Analyze this part of the sentence.
The “that” clause serves as the predicative to denote the subject “concern” and in this clause, the verb “(should) stay” is used in the subjunctive mood.
The major consequence of this new parenting psychology …
What does the term “parenting psychology” really mean?
The term “parenting psychology” refers to the general approach or attitude towards child rearing.
Parents believe that only if the child gets into this or that prestigious nursery school will he or she ever have a chance at getting into Harvard, Yale, or
Stanford.
Analyze the sentence.
Pay attention to the order of the sentence after the word “school”. The right order should be “he or she will …”. Inverted order is used because “that” clause starts with “only if”.
I had high hopes for soccer, which can be played by all makes and models of children, big, small, and in between.
Paraphrase the sentence.
I once expected a lot of soccer because it can be played by all kinds of children, no matter whether they are big or small.
… simply doesn’t get to participate.
What does this part of the sentence mean?
… simply doesn’t have the chance to participate.
Play is out and competition is in.
1. What do “in” and “out” mean?
Here “in” means fashionable or popular and “out” is its opposite.
2. What is the implied meaning of the sentence?
The implied meaning is that “Now in sports, a child is not playing, but competing with others. He should be exceptional and become a star.”
… but to get into as many advanced-placement classes as possible.
What do “advanced-placement classes” mean?
快班。
Around the country private tutoring centers are sprouting up like dandelions in the spring …
Paraphrase this part of the sentence.
Suddenly many private tutoring centers appear all over the country.
It is not the normal, healthy desire of parents to have successful children that is the problem, but the excessive pressure some parents are putting on children.
Analyze the sentence.
It is a sentence with the meaning: We are not worrying that parents have the normal, healthy desire to have successful children, but some parents are putting too much pressure on children.
They see no reason they should not take charge of child rearing in the same manner and with the same success.
Paraphrase the sentence.
Parents definitely think they should be very much in charge of their children’s lives just as theirs, and their children should be as successful as them.
If I don’t get there right …
Paraphrase this part of the sentence.
If I make mistakes in doing my homework ...
Healthy child rearing demands a middle ground.
1. What can we infer from the sentence?
To facilitate healthy child rearing, parents should not go to extremes: neither too permissive nor too pushy.
2. What does the term “middle ground” refer to?
The term “middle ground” is figuratively used to mean “an area of compromise or possible agreement between two extreme positions”.
We put our children at risk for short-term stress disorders and long-term personality problems when we ignore their individuality and impose our own priorities
“for their own good.”
Translate the sentence into Chinese.
当我们无视他们的个性，“为了他们好”而把我们自己最为关注的东西强加于他们时，
我们就把我们的孩子置于短期的紧张病和长期的个性问题的危险中了。
More likely than not, if we have achieved those goals, the child’s success will take care of itself.
What is the implied meaning of the sentence?
Probably if we have achieved those goals, success will naturally come the child’s way.
look upon … as: think of … as; consider … as
Most people looked upon him as an artist, but he was also a scientist.
The couple came to look upon the ordinary children almost as exceptional ones.
assumption: n . sth. you consider likely to be true even though you have no proof
We are working on the assumption that the conference will take place as planned.
我的计算建立在房价保持稳定的假设的基础上，但事实并
非如此。
My calculations were based on the assumption that house prices would remain steady, but it is not the case.
Collocation: make an assumption 做出假设 verify an assumption 证实设想 on the assumption that 以……设想为根据
rot:
1) v.
decay by a gradual natural process or make sth. do this
Bedtime drinks aimed at helping children to sleep may be rotting their teeth.
在有些国家食物等着腐烂，而在另一些国家人们快要饿死了。
In some countries food is left to rot, while in others people are dying from hunger.
2) n.
the natural process of decaying, or the part of something that has decayed
The wood was soft with rot.
Economic specialists hope to guide the country out of its economic rot.
CF: rot, decay & spoil
这三个动词均含“烂、腐烂”之意。 rot
指事物由于细菌的作用，良好的有机体逐渐变坏，蔬菜、水果或肉类的分解、腐烂。
一般用于指物体变坏的开始，也可用于比喻陈旧堕落。例如：
If water gets inside the woodwork, it causes it to rot.
如果水进入木头里就会导致它腐烂。 decay 通常指事物由良好或完美的状态自然而缓慢地变坏或完全变坏腐烂，或部分
地毁坏，可用于抽象事物，也可用于具体事物。一般用于事物的全过程。例如：
Our powers decay in old age.
我们的体力在年老时就衰退了。 spoil 用于非正式文体，指事物变质。例如：
The apples have spoiled in the heated room.
苹果在热烘烘的房内已腐烂了。
ahead of the pack:
(be, keep, or stay) ahead of everyone else in a race or competition
At this stage in the campaign, the Democratic candidate is way ahead of the pack.
We will do everything in our power to keep our company well ahead of the pack.
NB: pack: n .
（赛跑或竞赛中领跑者身后的）人群；兽群；一帮人
presume: vt . think you can be sure of sth. because it is likely, although there is no proof
From the way he talked, I presumed him to be your boss.
The committee presumed that its decisions would be carried out.
CF: presume, assume & suppose
这三个动词均含“假设，猜想，推测”之意。 presume 侧重指以过去经验或根据现实的某些感觉把某事认定为是事实。 assume 指有很少或完全没有根据的武断推测或不合逻辑的推理。 suppose
常用词，意义较广泛，指缺乏确切事实，根据一些现象进行的推测，也可指为
论证而提出合乎逻辑推理的某种假定，有时仅表示自己的意见。
Directions: Fill in the blanks with the words above. Change the form where necessary.
expression in your eyes.
norm: n .
(usu. with the when sing .) sth. that is usual, typical or standard
Peer evaluation within the teams has become the norm.
Yet, again there is the contrast between personal inclinations and social norms.
这男孩的阅读水平在他这个年龄算标准以上。
This boy’s reading ability is above the norm for children of his age.
contemporary: adj . relating to the present time; alive or existing at the same time as a particular event or person
Contemporary Indian cinema has its roots in folk culture.
Composers like Philip Glass have made contemporary music more popular.
CF: contemporary, modern, current & present
这四个形容词均含“现代的，当代的”之意。 contemporary modern
指当今这个时代，也可表示不同的人或物存在于同一时代。
指现代或近代，时期可长可短。也可指新颖的、时髦的。 current
指目前存在和发生的。 present
是这些词中语气最强的一个。指现在正发生、起作用的。
Directions: Fill in the blanks with the words above. Change the form where necessary.
3.
___________
tremendous: adj . very great; extremely extraordinary
Suddenly, there was a tremendous bang, and the whole station shook.
She was making a tremendous effort to appear calm.
CF: tremendous, enormous, immense, vast & massive
这五个形容词均含“巨大的，庞大的”之意。 tremendous 指某物很大，大得惊人；也可用作引申意义。例如：
My new job will be a tremendous challenge.
我的新工作将是一个极大的挑战。 enormous 指体积、数量或程度远远超过一般标准。例如：
This plan could save us an enormous amount of money.
这一计划给我们省了一大笔钱。
CF: tremendous, enormous, immense, vast & massive
这五个形容词均含“巨大的，庞大的”之意。 immense
正式用词，侧重指空间的广阔，也指面积或分量的巨大。例如：
Migrating birds cover immense distances every winter.
每个冬天迁徙的鸟儿要飞很远很远。 vast
多指空间、面积、范围的巨大，不涉及重量。例如：
The vast plains stretch for 600 miles.
宽广的平原绵延 600 英里。 massive
指体积、数量和重量的巨大，侧重指庞大而笨重。例如：
They built a massive monument.
他们建了一个巨大的纪念碑。
prestigious: adj. respected and admired as one of the best and most important
One of the most prestigious universities in the country is looking for a new president.
The anxiously awaited invitations to the prestigious end-of-year dance began to arrive.
screen: vt . find out information about (people) in order to decide whether they are suitable for sth.
You can use an answerphone to screen your phone calls before you answer them.
警察在很小心地给政客们筛选保镖。
Police are very careful when screening politicians’ bodyguards.
accelerate: v . happen faster than usual or sooner than you expect
The Ferrari can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds.
Zebtech is accelerating its cost-cutting program by cutting 2,500 jobs.
NB: 1. accelerated: adj. (课程学习）跳级的；加快的
2. 反义词是 decelerate 。
CF: accelerate, quicken & hasten
这三个动词均含“加快，使加快”之意。 accelerate 着重指频率或速率运转加快使其在更短时间内完成。例如：
Neglect has accelerated this building’s decay.
无人看管加快了楼房的破损。 quicken 普通用词，指增加速度、速率，含有动作完成得更富有生气的意思。例如：
The music quickened and the dancing got faster.
音乐速度加快了，舞步也快了。 hasten
指由于事情的紧迫性或突然性而加速。例如：
The storm’s approach hastened our departure.
暴风雨来了，我们匆匆分手。
exclusive: adj.
1) very expensive and therefore available only to the very rich
They live in Bel Air, an exclusive suburb of Los Angeles.
2) available or belonging only to particular people, and not shared
Our figure skating club has exclusive use of the rink on Mondays.
这是总统专用汽车。
This car is for the President’s exclusive use.
resort: n.
1) a place where many people go on holiday
Lagoon Reef is one of the best resort hotels.
2) what you will do if everything else fails
Economic sanctions will be used only in the last resort.
药物治疗仅仅是最后一招。
Drug treatment should only be used as a last resort.
exceptional: adj.
1) unusually good; outstanding
一些高层主管是女的，她们确实很杰出。
A few of the top executives are women who are really exceptional.
Merits are given as an honour for exceptional achievement.
2) out of the ordinary
Exit visas are only given in exceptional circumstances.
It’s one of the best examples of old English furniture I’ve seen — it truly is exceptional.
epidemic: n. a disease spreading quickly among many people in the same place for a time
Over 500 people died during last year’s flu epidemic.
In the face of an epidemic which was sweeping away our friends and lovers, we sought help where we could.
in between: in the middle between two points, sizes, periods of time, etc.
The old lady has breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and lunch at 1:00 p.m. and sometimes a snack in between.
We only expect our future children to be happy, no matter whether they are exceptional, ordinary or in between.
sprout up: appear suddenly in large numbers
Office blocks are sprouting up everywhere in the downtown.
Shopping centers have sprouted up in the new city.
eligible: adj.
1) suitable or fit to be chosen
Students on a part-time course are not eligible for a loan.
今年将有 500,000 多个 18 周岁的年轻人有资格选举。
Over 500,000 18-year-olds will become eligible to vote this year.
2) having the right or proper qualifications
His father had suggested several eligible middle-class girls to him.
The world saw Jack as a rich eligible bachelor, but really he was very shy.
excessive: adj. much more than is reasonable or necessary
As usual, the opposition claims the government is guilty of excessive spending.
Grades so high, she was saying, must reflect excessive study.
carve: vt . cut (a hard material) in order to produce an object or design
Mike carved this figure from a single block of marble.
Her son held his head beside the big carved pumpkin, mimicking a wide, toothy grin.
In Fujian, workers are carving roads into red clay hills, scaling bamboo scaffolding, hauling piles of stone.
Collocation: carve out 努力创立
She carved out a very successful career in the film industry.
她在电影业创立了一番很成功的事业。 carve up 分，分开（尤指对自己有利）
The two companies are attempting to carve up a large slice of America’s publishing industry between them.
这两个公司想瓜分美国出版业，都想对自己有利分多一点。
take the initiative: be the first to take action in a particular situation
Why don’t you take the initiative and ask him out?
The country was the only power willing to take the initiative in the long struggle to end the war.
Collocation: demonstrate / display / show initiative exercise / use initiative seize the initiative private initiative on one’s own initiative
显示进取心
行使主动权
抓住主动权
个人的主动权
主动地，不求助外力地
correlation: n . a mutual relationship or connection, in which one thing affects or depends on another
There is a direct correlation between the best-known brands and the bestselling brands.
Researchers have found a high correlation between urban deprivation and poor health.
Collocation: strong / high / close / significant correlation 密切相关 little correlation 几乎没有关联 have no correlation with 和……没有关联 show a correlation 显示相互关系 a correlation between ……之间的相互关系 correlation with 和……的相互关系
be symptomatic of: serve as a symptom or a sign, especially of something undesirable
The rise in unemployment is symptomatic of a general decline in the economy.
胸口痛也许是心脏疾病的症状。
Chest pains may be symptomatic of heart disease.
be tailored to: be made to fit a particular need or situation
The play is tailored to a particular audience.
显然她的小说很适合大众的口味。
Obviously her novels are tailored to popular taste.
impose: v . force the acceptance of (sth. unwelcome or unpleasant)
Teachers should try to avoid imposing their own beliefs and moral values on their students.
The court can impose a fine or a prison sentence.
Pattern: impose sth. on sb. 强加于
priority: n . the thing that is thought to be most important and need attention before anything else
After several burglaries in the area, security is now a high priority.
The customer is high on our list of priorities.
Collocation: take priority 取得优先权
I want to start work on the garden but the house must take priority.
我想先从花园干起，但更应从房子开始。 first / top / main / high priority 最优先
The children are our first priority.
孩子们最重要。 in order of priority
List your tasks in order of priority.
按重要性的顺序将你的任务列出来。
按优先的顺序
Collocation: priority over 比……优先
Buses should have priority over other road users.
公共汽车比其他道路使用者优先。 get your priorities right / straight 弄明白……最重要
It’s about time Sam got his priorities right — family and friends should come before football.
萨姆该弄明白什么最重要了 —— 家庭和朋友应比足球重要。
for sb.’s own good: to sb.’s own advantage; for sb.’s own benefit
I’m giving you this advice for your own good.
来吧，把药喝了——这是为你好！
Come on, drink up the medicine
— it’s for your own good!
competence: n . the ability to do sth. successfully
Students will gain competence in a wide range of skills.
He questioned the competence of the government.
Doctors have to constantly update their knowledge in order to maintain their professional competence.
NB: 同 competency
CF: competence, ability, capability & genius
这四个名词均含“能力，才能”之意。 competence 正式用词，侧重指令人满意的业务能力与水平，达到胜任某项工作等的要求。 ability
普通用词，指人先天的或后天学来的各种能力。 capability 多用于人，指胜任某项具体工作的能力，也指本身具有、尚未发挥的潜在能力。
常与 of 或 for 连用。 genius 指天赋的高度才能与智力。
Directions: Fill in the blanks with the words above. Change the form where necessary.
Einstein? against inflation.
decent: adj .
1) socially acceptable
Don’t you have a decent jacket?
Jack visited the local bars more frequently than was decent for a senior lecturer.
2) good enough
It was decent of you to show up today.
在那儿你不用花太多钱就能吃得不错。
You can get a decent meal there without spending too much money.
more likely than not: probably
More likely than not, she’ll end up in court over this problem.
The rest of the team can ’t be far away. More likely than not, they’ll be in the bar celebrating.
1. 心理健康
2. 高于平均水平
3. 施加巨大的压力
4. 在越来越早的年龄
5. 幼儿园
6. 筛选面试
7. 有机会
8. 奥运会选手
9. 暂时停留
10.
对……寄予厚望
Useful Expressions psychological health above the norm put tremendous pressure on at ever-earlier ages nursery school screening interview have a chance at
Olympic athletes stop by have high hopes for
11. 各种体质、各种类型
12. 快班
13. 像春天的蒲公英一样迅速出现
14. 赢得合意的配偶
15. 对孩子的培养
16. 干预过多
17.
为……负责
18. 为自己的成就获得赞誉的机会
19. 冒险
20. 缺少自尊心 all makes and models advanced-placement class sprout up like dandelions in the spring win the most eligible mates child rearing far too intrusive take responsibility for take credit for one’s achievements run the risk of be lacking in self-esteem
21. 校外活动
22. 走极端
23. 错误的观念
24. 早期教育
25. 关心
26. 彬彬有礼
27. 感到高兴和自豪
28. 水到渠成
out-of-school activities go to extremes false notions early instruction be concerned with well-mannered take pleasure and pride in take care of itself
Listening Practice
Directions: In this section, you will hear a short passage. At the end of the passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be read only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and
D).
KEY
1.
A) Quite convincing.
B) Partially true.
C) Totally groundless.
D) Rather confusing.
KEY
2.
A) He has plenty of time reading and studying.
B) He is left to play with his peers in his own way.
C) He has more time participating in school activities.
D) He is free to interact with his working parents.
KEY
3.
A) American kids are engaged in more and more structured activities.
B) American kids are increasingly neglected by their working mothers.
C) American kids are spending more and more time watching TV.
D) American kids are involved less and less in household work.
KEY
4.
A) Extracurricular activities promote children’s intelligence.
B) Most children will turn to reading with TV sets switched off.
C) Efforts to get kids interested in reading have been fruitful.
D) Most parents believe reading to be beneficial to children.
On average, American kids aged 3 to 12 spent 29 hours a week in school, eight hours more than they did in 1981. They also did more household work and participated in more of such organized activities as soccer and ballet. Involvement in sports, in particular, rose almost 50% from 1981 to 1997: boys now spend an average of four hours a week playing sports; girls log half that time. All in all, however, children’s leisure time dropped from 40% of the day in 1981 to 25%.
“Children are affected by the same time crunch ( 危 机 ) that affects their parents,” says Sandra Hofferth, who headed the recent study of children’s timetable. A chief reason, she says, is that more mothers are working outside the home. (Nevertheless, children in both double-income and “male breadwinner” households spent comparable amounts of time interacting with their parents, 19 hours and 22 hours respectively. In contrast, children spent only 9 hours with their single mothers.)
All work and no play could make for some very messed-up kids.
“Play is the most powerful way a child explores the world and learns about himself,” says T.
Berry Brazelton, professor at Harvard Medical School. Unstructured play encourages independent thinking and allows the young to negotiate their relationships with their peers, but kids aged 3 to 12 spent only 12 hours a week engaged in it.
The children sampled spent a quarter of their rapidly decreasing “free time” watching television. But that, believe it or not, was one of the findings parents might regard as good news. If they’re spending less time in front of the TV set, however, kids aren’t replacing it with reading. Despite efforts to get kids more interested in books, the children spent just over an hour a week reading.
Let’s face it, who’s got the time?
Questions 1 to 4 are based on the passage you have just heard.
1. What does the author think of the reason given by Sandra Hofferth for the time crunch?
2. According to the author, in which condition does a child develop better?
3. Which fact is the author concerned about?
4. What can we infer from the passage?
Group Work
Step One A Survey: On Remedial Classes for Children
Go around the classroom and interview at least 8 classmates to find out if they would like to have remedial classes as children.
Step Two Form Groups
According to the results of the survey, form two groups. Group A thinks that remedial classes are beneficial to the children and
Group B argues that they are not.
Step Three Group Debate
Before you start the debate, you should discuss with your group members and prepare your arguments and supporting ideas according to what you’ve learned in the text.
Picture Talking
Picture Talking
Picture Talking
Picture Talking
Picture Talking
Picture Talking
Writing Practice — Passage Writing
1. A Brief Introduction — Cause and Effect
A Brief Introduction — Cause and Effect
1. Write Angles
The details in cause-and-effect essays are most often presented in chronological order, reverse chronology, or order of importance.
The cause is why something happens; the effect is result , what happens due to the cause. Therefore, cause-and-effect essays establish a relationship between events.
Cause and effect usually (but not always) happen in time order: The cause comes first, creating an effect .
But with complex relationships, you’ll likely be dealing with multiple causes and effects. An effect may have more than one cause:
Cause 1
Cause 2
Cause 3 bring about Effect
A cause may also have more than one effect:
Cause results in
Effect 1
Effect 2
Effect 3
The cause always takes place before the effect: Something happens, which leads to a result. But the cause and effect don’t have to be presented in time order in the passage. The effect may be presented first, even though the cause occurred earlier.
2. Check It Out
How can you make sure you’re on target when you write cause-and-effect papers? Use this checklist:
• I’ve shown a clear cause-and-effect relationship between events.
Just because one event occurred before the other doesn’t mean that causality exists. Perhaps there’s another explanation for the events — coincidence, accident, and so on.
Here’s false causality: “24 hours in a day …
24 beers in a case … coincidence?” The answer is, yes, it is. Don’t push the envelope; if there’s no causality, don’t invent it.
• The cause-and-effect relationship I describe is valid.
Just because something happened once doesn’t mean that true causality exists. For the relationship to be valid, it has to be repeated.
That’s why you wait at least a week before you take that toilet-trained toddler out of diapers.
• I’ve included all relevant causes and effects.
Look beneath the surface to find every factor that affects your analysis.
When you omit one or more pertinent causes and effects, you weaken your writing (but you do keep your readers busy poking holes in your thesis).
An immediate cause is an event that comes directly before an effect and helps bring it about. An underlying cause is not immediately apparent; a remote cause is distant from the effect.
3. Transitions
Writers often use transitions to signal specific relationships among ideas.
Following are the transitions most often used to signal cause-and-effect relationships. Like well-timed flowers and candies, the right transitions can help you cement relationships.
as a result because consequently due to for this (that) reason if … then since so that thus for nevertheless so therefore this (that) is how
Homework
Directions: In this part, you are supposed to write a composition on the title
“Children’s Schoolbags Are Getting Heavier”. Your composition should be no less than 180 words. The composition should cover the following points:
1. The current situation
2. The reason why children’s schoolbags are getting heavier
3. The serious consequences
4. How to solve the problem
Proverbs and Quotations
1. Children are parents’ riches.
子女是父母之财富。
2. Happy is he that is happy in his children.
为自己孩子感到高兴的，才是幸福的人。
3. Education has for its object the formation of character.
教育的目的在于培养品德。
4. There are obviously two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live.
教育显然有两种：一种是教人怎样谋生，另一种是教人怎样生活。
5. The fundamental defect of fathers is that they want their children to be a credit to them.
— Bertrand Russell, British philosopher
父亲们最根本的缺点在于想要自己的孩子为自己争光。
—— 英国哲学家 伯特兰•罗素
6. Let early education be a sort of amusement; you will then be better able to find out the natural bent.
— Plato, ancient Greek philosopher
初期教育应是一种娱乐，这样才更容易发现一个人天生的爱好。
—— 古希腊哲学家 柏拉图
